Wow! It's been awhile! Sorry for that folks! My life has been an award- winning soap opera.....minus the Sonny Corinthos.....damn. Yea...story...gettin to it! Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. Gotta keep the heartache brief....*sob* ....talk amongst yourselves....

Last Chapter: "She's not my girlfriend!" Bella stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes were glassy from the tears she was fighting to hold back. Inuyasha couldn't figure out where the sudden attack of grief came from.
"You should consider rethinking your words.....for Kagome's sake."

What Is and What Could've Been - "It's out of my hands.."

Inuyasha slowly followed Bella into the mist. She no longer smiled or said something sarcastic or funny. It was as if her energy had been sucked out. *Did I do this to her?* The mist vanished and they stood before the scene they had originally left : a tear-stained Kagome climbing out of the well. Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest.
"We've seen this already. Up pops Kouga and Kagome goes with him....same story." Bella glanced at the hanyou but let her head drop in sadness.
"Oh, Inuyasha.....if you had just paid attention...."
"What do ya mean?" Bella's rosey eyes wandered back up to Kagome and shook her head.
"So young..." With that, Bella turned and started to walk away from Inuyasha. The hanyou stretched an arm out to stop her but a small rustle of leaves stopped either of them from going any farther. On the other side of the well, two forms appeared from the shadows of the forest - Kikyo and Tsuni! The child held on tight to Kikyo's hand and pulled her down to her level. Kikyo kept her gaze locked on Kagome as Tsuni talked.
"There she is. The one thing keeping Inuyasha on Earth. The one thing keeping your and his' love torn. She must be stopped. She must be destroyed."
"I've tried before, what makes you think that this time will be any different?" Tsuni smiled wickedly.
"Simple, my girl. You have my power behind you 100%" Kikyo glared at the small girl who was trying her hardest to turn Kikyo against the morals she had been brought up on.
"I need more than your assurance that this will work." Inuyasha couldn't believe this! She had tried before?! Bella spoke up, almost too softly for Inuyasha's ears.
"Yes. You seem to forget that Kagome's reluctance to tell you what the miko tried the night she stole the jewel shards was enough evidence, but, obviously it wasn't, was it? You seem more surprised that Kikyo would try to kill Kagome than Kagome leaving with Kouga. Maybe the Fates were right.....maybe you are a hopeless case." Tsuni's smile seemed to sparkle with evil.
"Sesshomaru is alread y at the village causing some mischief."
"Inuyasha has defeated him before."
"Yes I suppose. But only with the help of Tetsusaiga." Kikyo turned sharply to Tsuni, her eyes turning into thin slits of interest. Tsuni curled her small fingers around the long blade that had protected Inuyasha from his youkai blood for so long. Kikyo nodded in agreement with Tsuni and stood to leave.
"I shall retrieve Naraku for you then." Tsuni leaned against a nearby tree. She twirled the sword in her hand.
"Oh priestess, don't forget your object of negotiation.." She lightly threw the Tetsusaiga into Kikyo's arms. The priestess continued on her journey. Inuyasha curled his fists. The mount of anger he felt boiled up to the surface.
"How'd she get my sword!!!??" Bella sank to the ground.
"If you're that blind......I shall not reveal the obvious to the oblivious." Inuyasha searched throughout his brain until he found the memory of the last time he had seen the miko - just earlier that night!

~Flashback~
"You would...protect me?"
"Always." Kikyo embraced the hanyou. Inuyasha leaned into her. Her scent was so beautiful. He could fall asleep next to her scent and never wake up. Kikyo watched Inuyasha fall slowly under her spell. It was working. It was only an hour earlier that a small child, obviously from another realm, made her an offer she couldn't refuse (movie line!!! sorry....). She could hear Kagome getting closer to them and she swiftly moved her fingers over the latch attaching Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha. A branch was broken and Inuyasha's attention turned to Kagome. Perfect. Kikyo slipped the Tetsuaiga out of sight and moved herself into the shadows. ~End of flashaback~

Inuyasha stood, dumbfounded. How could he let something like that happen? His most precious possession taken to kill his other most prized possession. He moved up beside Bella.
"I understand now. You can take me back to correct the wrong." Bella looked up at him with the most sorrowful expression Inuyasha had ever seen.
"I can't. If you just would've paid attention....." Inuyasha stood before her, towering over the woman.
"I mean it Bella! Take me back! I won't let Kagome die like this!!!" Bella stood to meet him face to face.
"I can't!!!" Tears were spilling from her eyes. "Don't you understand?! Your youkai blood has taken over Inuyasha! This is your other being....your other self, if you will, that has been here with me. Does it not make sense to you? The moment Tsuni and I popped up was when Kagome left, Sesshomaru appeared, and you suddenly saw us." Inuyasha flexed a clawed hand and wrapped it around Bella's throat, his claws piercing her sensitive flesh. A trickle of blood crawled down his hand.
"Take me back."
"It's out of my hands..." Inuyasha threw down to the ground and frantically paced.

"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha turned to see Kagome standing up, smiling at him. Her gaze went through him and to another figure. Inuyasha stared at his demon form for the first time. Blood covered his claws and bare chest but her knew almost immediatly that it wasn't his. "Inuyasha?" Kagome stepped forward a little, only to realize what had happened to him.
"Kagome! Run!!" Bella dropped her eyes from the sight. She knew what was about to take place. Inuyasha felt a lump in his throat. He ran up beside the adolescent. "Kagome...please!!!!! Run!!!" It was too late. The crazed youkai ran towards the teenager and slashed at her, bruising her with his knuckles and cutting her with his claws. She stood in shock for a moment and then slumped down to her knees. Inuyasha followed her. "Inu...yasha..."
Kikyo stood before the youkai Inuyasha defiantly and tossed the Tetsusaiga into his blood stained hands. Her part was done. She knelt down beside Kagome, whom was breathing heavily trying to stay alive for a bit longer. Kikyo yanked the jewel shards from around her neck. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of Kagome's mouth. Kikyo knelt down once more, wiped the blood away from her lip and graced the teenager's cheek.
"It didn't have to come to this." She stood and walked away. Tetsusaiga vibrated and Inuyasha could feel himself being pulled back to his body. He sent a look to Bella that would've sent Sesshomaru six feet under. A tear slid down her cheek. She sniffed, wiped away the tear, and stood.
"You may not like everything Tsuni shows you.....or does to you. But you brought it upon yourself." She flicked her hand and a ring of flames was raging around Inuyasha. He had to squint to see her until she finally disappeared. Everything was back to normal, except that Kagome was hanging onto life by a thread and he had just snapped it. He crawled up next to Kagome. Tsuni slowly walked out from behind the tree she had been leaning on the whole time.

Inuyasha sat in the middle of a ring of blazing flames, covering his sensitive ears from the evil laughter surrounding him. A bloodied Kagome lay across his lap, bruised and battered by his own greedy claws. He lightly graced her swollen cheek and she tried to flinch, but the pain was too unbearable. Inuyasha's mind seemed to unravel inside him. When had everything turned from a dream into....into this? Kagome's blood stained his hands and what had he doen to prevent it? Nothing. He had let his youkai blood get the better part of him and now Kagome was suffering a slow and painful death. The teenager raised a bruised hand up to Inuyasha's tear stained face.
"Inu..yasha?"
"Yes, Kagome?"
"It's you. You're really back." She gave a faint smile before falling back into a dark oblivion. Inuyasha left her hand resting on his cheek. The laughing continued, more louder than before. Kagome's lifeless hand fell to the ground as Inuyasha picked himself up, guarding Kagome's corpse.
"What is that you want?! Why?! Why did you do this?!!" The laughing came to an abrupt stop. A feminine voice stretched across the scene.
"I have done nothing. I told you from the beginning, you may not like everything I show you." Inuyasha felt himself go limp beneath himself and dropped to his knees. 'How did things end up like this?'

Kagome snapped up from her bed, tangled in her sheets. It was a dream. Just a really bad, really scary, really childish nightmare. She wiped her forehead free of sweat with the sleeve of her pajama shirt. Kagome wriggled her legs free of the sheets and laid back down. Why had the dream seemed so real? She turned on her side to face her alarm clock. Only twom ore hours until sunrise. She turned herself a complete 90 degrees and scanned the floor with her fingers to find her stereo remote.
Her petitie fingers finally found the remote, resting beside a snoring hanyou. Kagome smiled to herself. It was just a dream. A dream. But why did she have a bad feeling that when he returned her to the Feudal Era, something would go wrong. She stretched her arm out in the direction of the stereo, tapping the volume on low so it wouldn't bother Inuyasha too much. However, nothing turned on. Kagome turned her head and almost sent herself out of the bed.
A woman with pink eyes and a child with multi-colored hair stood in the middle of her room. The woman fanned herself with a small black fan, much like Naraku's Kagura would. The child remained still and silent.
"Tell him, Kagome. Before it's too late...." The woman fanned the floor and a gold mist swirled around them. Kagome tugged at the sheets and pulled them to her chin. She suddenly felt very cold, and very scared. Was her dream only a dream. Inuyasha arose and yawned. He turned to Kagome and grinned at her groggily. Kagome couldn't but smile too.
"Morning Inuyasha," she whispered. He shook off his smile and grabbed Kagome out of bed.
"Move it wench. Shippo and the others are whining about your return." Kagome pushed herself to the closet and picked out her clothes for the day. *Who were those girls and what did they want? Am I in danger? Is Inuyasha?*

The journey back to the Feudal Era was normal, and so was the fight with a giant snake demon with a jewel shard, but Kagome couldn't shake that feeling of danger that loomed over her.
"Kagome? Are you alright?" Sango sat beside her, worried, like always.
"Of course Sang-"
"Soul Snatchers!" Miroku pointed up to the crimson and amber sky. Sure enough, there were Kikyo's soul snatchers, flying gracefully through the clouds. Miroku turned to Inuyasha.
"I have to.....just don't tell Kagome." Sango placed her hands on her hips.
"She's not deaf Inuyasha! She's right he- Kagome?"
Kagome ran as fast as she could with bow and arrows in hand. *That dream. That dream is coming true. And if it's coming true, than Kikyo's going to betray Inuyasha* She could remember every detail from her dream; every branch, every leaf. She even knew which tree to hide behind. She locked an arrow in place and awaited a moment she knew would be difficult.

Yep.....that's it for tonight. I slept on my neck wrong or something.......Next chapter: Hanging by a moment. Yea...song title....i know. Whoa....wait.....just....holy! Spike dies?! Back the truck up!!! He dies?! Sorry. I never got to see the entire Cowboy Bebop thing.....Spike dies?! Dude! No!!! Objection! Something!! Do they not know how to call 911?! Man!!!!! Um.....till next time!